if by my life or death I can protect you, I will

 from Monday Madness

 

1. Tell about a special piece of cookware, dinnerware, or kitchen item in your home that has sentimental value.  a pair of pasta bowls from Crate & Barrel, the perfect size and shape. They are nearly always in the dishwasher because I use them all the time.

 

2. Is there a piece of jewelry you wear that reminds you of someone or brings back a special memory?  ugh, yes. I have several pieces of jewelry in my safe right now, pending making some decision about what the hell to do with them. I can't wear them anymore because of the "reminds you of someone" factor.

3. When you go out for a meal, do you make special requests having to do with food choices, extra condiments, seating arrangements, special instructions for how your food is cooked and the like? What are your special requests?  I order my bacon crispy, no sour cream (on anything), salad dressing on the side if possible, and BLT with no mayo. None of that is do-or-die except the sour cream.

4. What makes your home special to you and your family?  my home is my sanctuary. I have my creature comforts and plenty of open space. I have plants (though, oddly, fewer all the time) and books. In a couple of weeks, there will be new photographs on the walls.

5. We've had a lot of time to think up ways to make our lives more interesting while on lockdown. What do you do to make an otherwise ordinary day/night more special? In other words, what does your "special night" look like?  I really appreciate some long conversations lately. So much mental food

6. You are waiting for an exciting special delivery! What's in the box?  the Robert Blomfield photograph over which I've been drooling and crying for a couple of years already... sigh 

7. When is the last time you went on special assignment?  last Wednesday night—an assignation

8. If you were saving a bottle of wine for a special occasion, what would the occasion be and who would be in attendance?  that would be The End of The Lockdown, and I'd be drinking with The Mother of All the Cats (though it would not be wine for me)

9. What is the last "special report" or "breaking news report" you heard?  since I don't have TV, I'm going to answer this in the metaphorical sense. Just a couple days after interviewing for a different job at the same company where I've been working for the last 6 years, I got a phone call from the HR interviewer. She was letting me know that though I'd "done really, really well in the interview" (thou dost protest too much, m'lady), they'd gone with someone more qualified for the position. Under the circumstances, it was an interesting approach to use in turning me down.

10. Who or what in your life gets special treatment?  I am profoundly loyal, to the point of stubbornness. There are people for whom I've felt that way since we first met. There are, naturally, others who convinced me that my feelings and efforts were not welcome. I might be persistent, but even I will concede.

[from here; the title quotation is by J.R.R. Tolkien, from The Fellowship of the Ring]